The Kreisjugendring Siegen-Wittgenstein has been organizing youth encounters with its partners in the Emek Hefer district since 1966. This partnership is based on the friendship and solidarity of all those involved. Even in this crisis, one thing is particularly important to them: keeping in touch, standing up for each other and planning and implementing projects together.

For example, the Siegen-Wittgenstein District Youth Council joined forces with other stakeholders in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district to form an alliance of solidarity and organized a "Solidarity with Israel" rally on October 14, 2023, at which young people from the youth encounters read out statements from Israeli participants. In addition, the approximately 200 participants in the rally were able to write greetings, wishes and kind words on postcards, which they then translated and sent to their Israeli partners in Emek Hefer. They also collected donations for the partner district.

Furthermore, they offered activities for the individual meeting groups: They organized Zoom meetings with the Israeli participants and invited the German participants to send letters and small gifts to their friends in Israel. This resulted in two large parcels full of sweets, photos and letters.

To mark the occasion, a teacher workshop, a student workshop and an open evening event with Dr. Olaf Kistenmacher entitled "What to do? Current anti-Semitism in Germany" were organized. Together with the Israeli partners, the Kreisjugendring organized a digital expert discussion with a master sergeant from the IDF Educational Corps to provide information about the situation in Israel.

All of these and other planned formats and activities will be reported on a new, joint Instagram channel of the partner districts.